Uruguayan coach Lopez leaves Barcelona SC

QUITO, April 20 — Uruguayan Diego Lopez has been sacked as manager of Barcelona SC after a lackluster start to the season, the Ecuadorian club said on Friday.
The announcement came less than a day after Barcelona SC scored late to clinch a barely deserved 1-0 home win over El Nacional in Ecuador’s top flight.
“Barcelona announces that it has terminated the employment contract of the first-team head coach, Diego Lopez, exercising the early termination clause,” read a statement on the club’s official website.
It added that veteran Argentine manager Ariel Holan was a frontrunner to fill the vacant role.
Lopez guided Barcelona SC to 13 wins, eight draws and three defeats after taking charge of the club last July.
The Guayaquil-based outft is currently sixth in Ecuador’s 16-team top-flight standings. It is also competing in this year’s Copa Libertadores – South America’s premier club competition – and is third in the four-team group with two draws in its first two games.